


Bruised and Broken (But Still Coming Home To You)

by awkwardCerberus



Series: HideKane That Should Have Happened [2]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Based off a headcanon I have, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Major Character Injury, Shironeki | White-haired Kaneki, Slice of Life, i guess, nothing bad tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 15:04:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6381118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardCerberus/pseuds/awkwardCerberus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hide was beginning to get used to Kaneki coming home in the dark with the crap beaten out of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bruised and Broken (But Still Coming Home To You)

**Author's Note:**

> this show has RUINED ME i say as i have just finished watching it for the third time. Anyway this is part of my "my heart is a crushed ball of sadness and i wished this show was more like the manga so hide wouldn't be dead" series. 
> 
> This is a series id like to continue, so if you have something you want written, please feel free to send me a prompt and ill do my darndest to fill it.

“Kaneki, m’home!” Hide called from the door, before he almost tripped over his own feet trying to take off his shoes. He set a plastic bag on the counter, already digging through the cupboards for some instant noodles, “so, we just got a shipment of the debut book by this new author, and guess who snagged you a copy? I know, I know, best boyfriend—“

He was cut off by the window to the fire escape opening, and he looked up from where his head was buried in the empty plane of their pantry. Shoes bounced onto the floor, a heavy duffel bag hit the carpet, a mask unzipped and dropped onto the bed, light footsteps padding across the room. Unmistakably Kaneki.

A breath sucked in from across the kitchen, “Hide…”

“Yo, babe, you missed my surprise. Now I gotta make my ‘best boyfriend’ appeal all—holy shit, Kaneki!”

Leaning on the doorframe, bleeding onto the tile, was a very bruised and beaten Kaneki. Without even thinking, Hide grabbed a handful of paper towels and slid across the floor to his boyfriend. The hair around Kaneki’s ghoul eye was stained red from a cut just above his eyebrow, and Hide was careful when he held a napkin to it. Kaneki wiped the blood away from his lip, trying to fake a smile for the blonde, and to take Hide’s eyes away from the bagged corpse lying next to the bed.  
There was another sucked in breath, and then a dull cough. Hide looked down at where Kaneki had been holding a hand over his stomach—and he knew that there would be some sort of injury beneath it. There always was.

After the fight at Anteiku, the two had moved to another ward in hopes of restarting. After finding a small apartment, the pair found work relatively easy—Kaneki found a nice little café that had just opened, and Hide found work in a bookstore of all places. The ghouls in their current side of town knew of the Eyepatch ghoul and his reputation, and some were even scared shitless of Kaneki. But there were some who could have cared less who he was, and Hide was beginning to get used to Kaneki coming home in the dark with the crap beaten out of him. 

“Can you make it to the shower?”

The ghoul nodded, and immediately, Hide had his arms around Kaneki—helping him up gently and guiding him to the edge of the bathtub to sit down. Peeling off Kaneki’s suit was going to be hard, it always was when he was beaten up. The tight fabric made a suction sound when Hide started pulling it off, and the blood that pasted it to Kaneki’s skin didn’t want the suit to leave. The blonde sighed when he saw the mosaic of bruises that made up his boyfriend’s back—he knew they’d all be healed by morning, but they still looked painful. His hands traced down the edges of Kaneki’s spine, until his thumbs brushed against two pairs of swollen kagune sacs. The half-ghoul jumped at the contact, biting his lip against the sudden pain.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” Hide immediately apologized, making a mental note to not touch them again.

Kaneki mumbled something along the lines of an “it’s fine”, as he reached up to turn on the water while Hide began to strip behind him. The pile of discarded clothes was slid out with a lazy kick when the water began to come on.

Hide was right about the wound on Kaneki’s stomach. It was a gnarly mass of dried blood and torn skin that stung when the air and hot water hit it. The blonde tried to avoid that wound, letting the water do all the work. He didn’t mind when Kaneki leaned against him—it just made it easier for Hide to wash the dirt and blood off the ghoul’s back. The water that ran down the drain had turned red quickly, but neither of them seemed to care. There was a sleepy kiss on Hide’s neck while he worked the dried blood from Kaneki’s hair, and he made sure to return the favor when he moved down to the ghoul’s face.

The water turned off, and Hide wrapped a towel around Kaneki’s shoulders, being careful not to touch anything that looked painful. When they went into the bedroom, Kaneki continued to lean on Hide while the blonde grabbed fresh clothes for the both of them. Hide was about to offer the ghoul a shirt, but upon remembering the four very swollen kagune sacs, just grabbed a pair of loose sweatpants instead. Though, while he dressed himself, out of the corner of his eye, he still saw Kaneki wincing and biting as his lip when he slid on the pants.

“What the hell happened to your back, dude?”

Kaneki hesitated for a moment—sitting down on the end of the bed gingerly before speaking, “It's what happens when a ghoul’s kagune gets ripped out.”

Hide failed at hiding the cringe on his face. He was going to say something, but instead he caught the ghoul rigidly reaching for the duffel bag. Though he wasn't a ghoul, Hide was still fast; he scooped the bag up off the ground before his boyfriend hardly laid a hand on it. He knew that the meat inside was already wrapped in thick plastic packaging (Kaneki was always meticulously organized—he packaged all his meals when he was finished hunting so he wouldn't have to do it in their kitchen), but even through the plastic and the thick fabric of the bag, Hide could vaguely pick up the smell of blood and flesh.

“Hide—“

“Nu-uh-uh! What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't do pointless, trivial things for no reason?” He slung the strap around his shoulder, and leaned against a wall in an attempt at playing off the fact that his knees almost buckled under the weight of the bag, “you get comfortable and I'll do this.”

Kaneki hesitated—watching as Hide shuffled into the kitchen and began stacking the packaged meat in their freezer. Suddenly, the bed under him grew extremely comfortable; the tangle of sheets and pillows, the muted scent of Hide, and his aching body all began to call at him. When he laid down, the swelling in his lower back screamed in protest, and stupidly he reached back to graze a hand over them. Where his kagune came out, there were four bulges, each as bruised and as painful as the others. The ghoul swore under his breath, but was at least thankful that the wound on his stomach was already beginning to heal.

The freezer door shut quietly, and a moment later Hide walked back into the bedroom—already tugging off his shirt and pajama bottoms (in all fairness, Kaneki could have had Hide’s boxers halfway across the room right then, if the thought of moving didn't make his whole body scream in pain). Regardless, he gladly snuggled into Hide's bare chest when the blonde finally laid down next to him. The ghoul pressed a very tired kiss into the skin around his boyfriend’s collarbone as he took in Hide's scent. It was a sweet lullaby of smells, one that reminded Kaneki of when his mother used to welcome home from school, and of sweet evenings with the two boyfriends curled on the couch together.

It was one he never tired of falling asleep to.

…

When he woke up, his back was on fire. Like someone had taken a metal poker and heated it until it was white-hot, and then rammed it up his spine. The thought of moving made it hurt worse, and actually trying to move made him nauseous. The rest of Kaneki’s various wounds had healed completely—even the ripped up flesh over his stomach had gone back to normal. But now, his whole back felt swollen and hot, and the half-ghoul couldn't resist reaching a hand back. Even before he had even touched the bruised flesh, he could feel the heat radiating off his injured kagune sacs. When he touched the bulges, he yelped like a kicked dog.

The sudden noise made Hide jump so high he almost rolled off the bed. “Kaneki, babe, what's wrong?”

Kaneki flinched at the voice, and then immediately felt guilty for waking the other up, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you,” there was a gentle hand on his shoulder—the familiar, warm touch had the ghoul almost melting into it, “my back.”

Hide kicked off the remaining blankets, and padded around the bed to his boyfriend’s side—taking extra care to remove the covers without adding to the ghoul’s pain. There was a sharp inhale, and a whispered “holy shit” when Hide finally saw the other’s back. The dark violet bruising stood out incredibly in comparison to Kaneki’s pale skin; the dark violet fading into a blue, and then a sickly yellow as it stretched up his back. The area where his kagune came out had swollen so much since last night that Hide was scared to even breathe on it.

“I’m gonna get you some ice, don’t move, ‘kay?” The moment the words left his mouth, Hide realized how stupid they sounded.

Kaneki couldn't move, even if he wanted to. Once he realized he'd have to call in sick to work, his heart sunk. Not because he would be missing a day, but because he'd have to move if he wanted to reach his phone. In the kitchen, the rustling of ice mingled with Hide’s voice.

“Emi? Hi, it's Hide. Yeah, Kaneki's boyfriend. Well, he pulled something in his back and…oh really? That's super…yeah I'll tell him. Thanks!” He hung up and walked into the bedroom, setting an ice pack carefully against the half-ghoul's back—planting a kiss on his lover’s white hair before disappearing back into the kitchen, “Emi says you totally owe her one.”

Kaneki gave a low “mhmm” as he adjusted the ice behind him. The coffee maker turned on, and the water began to dribble into the pot. The freezer opened again, and the crinkle of icy paper and plastic immediately made the ghoul look up. The scent of human flesh drifted into the bedroom, and Kaneki could feel his left eye change. A moment later the coffee maker shut off, mugs clinked against the counter top, and Hide walked back in, balancing two mugs of coffee in one hand; an open package of meat in the other.

Hide set the mugs on the nightstand, and handed Kaneki his breakfast, smiling a dorky grin while he helped the ghoul sit up without stressing his back, “you're so spoiled, babe. Breakfast in bed, _and_ the day off.”

Kaneki stared down at the opened package of flesh in his lap. Hide was completely nonchalant about it, he acted like he hadn't even seen Kaneki’s ghoul eye. If he could, the ghoul would have moved somewhere else to eat rather than be so close to his boyfriend. Kaneki’s stomach growled loudly in the quiet bedroom, and a guilty blush crept up his cheeks.

Hide turned to him, a quizzical expression on his face, “what's the matter?” A pause, “oh…no sweat, I was gonna take a shower anyway!”

He picked up his mug and cellphone, stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door to give the ghoul guaranteed privacy. Although, Kaneki waited for the water to come on before he actually started eating. The flesh was still cold from being frozen, but it was still manageable, even if it was still completely frozen in some spots. The cold did nothing to the flavor—it still tasted regretfully delicious. Before he knew it, his hand brushed against the plastic wrap and he looked down at an empty package.

Across the room, Kaneki heard the shower shut off. He noticed Hide had slid a napkin in under the meat package, and wiped the blood away from his mouth with it. The smell of meat still lingered in the bedroom, and it took the ghoul a moment to realize that the bloody packaging was still sitting in his lap. He hated that he would have to ask Hide to throw it away after he already brought the meat to him, and the nearest trash can was all the way in the kitchen.

 _Shit_.

He crinkled the wrapper into a ball and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Everything was numb for a moment, before his back exploded in pain. If he hadn’t grabbed the wall when he had, the ghoul would have fallen face first onto the floor. Kaneki pushed himself off the wall, taking several staggering steps toward the doorframe. When he finally reached the doorframe, he leaned all his weight against it until he thought he would almost crack the wood. At least he was halfway to the kitchen.

In the bathroom he could hear Hide humming the theme song to some anime; Kaneki knew that meant the blonde was running all his various products through his hair, which also meant he was almost done in the bathroom. With another push off the wall, Kaneki managed to stagger a few more steps into the kitchen until he was at least able to lean on the counter. He managed to slide along the counter to the sink, but then he realized that reaching down to open the cupboard door would be an entirely different battle.

When he reached down to open the cabinet, the hinges on the bathroom door squeaked open. The ghoul froze.

“Yo, what part of ‘let your boyfriend take care of you for the day did you not get?”  
Before he could blink, Hide was standing next to him, “I was just throwing this away.”

Hide set his hands on his hips and took the empty wrapping from the ghoul’s hand—mumbling under his breath about how he was turning into a mom as he dropped it in the trash can. He threw an arm around Kaneki’s shoulder, another under his knees, and hauled him up into his arms (with a small amount of effort).

When they reached the bed, Hide tried his hardest not to actually drop his boyfriend, although he did set Kaneki down a little harder than he would have intended. Hide waited for Kaneki to get comfortable before kneeling over the half-ghoul's shoulders.

“Promise me you'll stay in bed this time?” He bumped their foreheads together and smiling sweetly, “lemme do all the work? ‘Kay?”

Kaneki nodded and leaned up to peck at Hide’s lips tiredly, “okay. Love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Mistakes are mine; this was not beta'd.


End file.
